Stop saying you “crushed it” (or “killed it”)!

One of the most annoying aspects of tech/start up culture is its misuse of language.

If you think of a slightly different way of doing something, you are not “disrupting”. A market is not a “space”.

But the most egregious example of this phenomenon is when people describe succeeding at something by saying they “crushed it” or “killed it”.

No.

If you crush or kill something, that’s the opposite of success. Don’t just take my word for it. Look what Merriam-Webster says:

crush: (verb) ˈkrəsh – to press or squeeze with a force that destroys or deforms, to squeeze or pound into small fragments or particles, as ore, stone,etc., to force out by pressing or squeezing, to destroy, subdue, or suppress utterly

kill: (verb) ˈkil – to cause the death of (a person, animal, or plant) : to end the life of (someone or something), to cause the end of (something), to turn (something) off with a switch

Unironically using a word to mean its opposite makes you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about. Plus saying you “crushed it” is douchey AF. So stop doing it.